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Saturday, August 25, 2012

Using this
method I made both stars below byrearranging the placement of the
blades

Tube Piecing begins
by strip sewing 2 long strips of fabric cut to the
same width and length. These fabric strips can be any width, I wanted to use this method to cover
my 60-degree star blades, (made from light card templates) so the measurement I
needed to cut my fabric is 1½"
by the width of the yardage (usually 44 inches). Two fabric strips are placed right side to right side and sewn with ¼"
seam allowance, down both outer edges, (this forms a tube), then using a see-through acrylic Square
ruler with a 60-degree angle marked on the ruler grid. The 60-degree angle line on the ruler is placed along the outer edge of the fabric, and then the 60-degree angle is cut on the fabric.

To create the 60-degree
triangles I needed to change from the acrylic Square ruler to a see-through acrylic
Triangular rule.

This see-through acrylic Triangular ruler is then placed along the outer raw edge of
tube fabric, lining up the centre of the acrylic Triangle ruler with the edge of the raw fabric (The sewn ¼" seam allowance should match the ¼" seam allowance on the ruler) and
measuring 5" the 60-degree
angle line is then cut into the fabric tube.

This cut is repeated along the length of the fabric
strip at 5" lengths by moving the acrylic Triangular ruler to the other side of the fabric tube, and repeating the cut. The result is a set of pieced fabrics cut into
triangles.

Using an unpicker to unpick stitches from point of triangle

now all I have to do is remove the few stitches at the triangle fabric points

Back of Fabric showing

Then press the seams open

Front of fabric with ends clipped off

Triming the ends off
and
viola it’s done.

Now
the fun part begins. I really love this part of the process.

.

Using 4
paper clips to secure my light
card template
to my fabric, I first line up the points of the card template with the fabric
seam (the fabric seams have been pressed open to reduce the bulk at the points)

Fold the fabric over the edge of the card template and clip in place with the paper clipThe next step is very important.

I need make sure that the pieced fabric seam to run
through the points of my card, these points will later join in the centre of the star when the six star blades are sewn
together, to get them to match perfectly I must secure the side directly opposite to the paper clip which is already in
place, to do this, fold the fabric over the edge of the card template directly
opposite and paper clip and clip it in place using second paper clip. Check that the pieced fabric seam is running through the points.

Continue this process with the other two fabric sides using the third and fourth paper clips to secure the edge of the card template.

Notice
the ears at the end of the star blade are pointing in the opposite direction.
This is want I wanted to happen to all six star blades because when the star blades are sewn together these
ears will nestle together nicely.

I then tack the fabric to the card template making sure that the corners are sharpe points and the seam line is running through the point. Repeat the above process five more times. It takes six star blades form one complete star.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Yippee! I have just finished more
stars for Dylan's quilt. I used the Strip sew method to make these stars.

Strip sewing begins with long strips of fabric cut the same width and length. Fabric strips can be any width, but I want my 60 - degree star blades to be 2" the measurement I needed to cut my fabric is 1¼" by the width of the yardage (usually 44 inches). Then the two fabric strips are placed right side to right side and sewn with ¼" seam allowance, the seam

Dark fabric in the middle

is pressed open, a triangular ruler is then placed along the outer edge of the fabric, at a 60-degree angle. The pieced fabric strip is cut along the angle . This cut is repeated along the length of the fabric strip at 2" lengths. The result is a set of pieced fabrics cut in triangles.

﻿

Light Fabric in the middle

The Tube strip method
was used to make the following stars. I've gotten a few done!!

love the colour combinations

I will post more stars soon, better get busy and cut more yummy fabric.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

At last my Janome Horizon
7700 table has arrived. The table and sewing machine have been on my wish list for the last 12 months, with my constant stream of chatter and hinting my hubby weakened and bought them for me in May this year.

The table has
taken forever to get here from the USA via the Eastern States. (The saying
we have in Western Australia is true "W.A. stands for wait
awhile!!!") lol… the delay was something to do with shipping space in sea containers.

I LOVE my Janome sewing
machine. The machine is
HUGE, sleek and a beautiful deep red colour. It's not heavy but it is awkward
if you wanted to carry it around, I want to create a sewing area with a solid piece of
furniture (table) dedicated solely to sewing, as this baby is not going to be packed
away in a cupboard or cleared away to make space for another project.

Guess what I’ll be
doing for the rest of the week? Yep! Setting up my sewing room and clearing the
clutter by moving things around - there is nothing like a new baby to set up
and play with!

About Me

Hi, I live in Western Australia I am married with two grown sons and six grandchildren and my two daughter-in-laws are wonderful. I love all forms of patchwork and quilting from scrap quilts, hand and machine-piecing, to foundation-piecing and fusible applique.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. If you have a question regarding my post, I will try to respond to it in the comments section of that post or via email.